Protective helmet having a cover plate knock out assembly

ABSTRACT

A protective helmet having a cover plate over a front vision area and a cover plate knock out assembly for moving the cover plate a predetermined distance away from the helmet so that a finger of a user can get behind the cover plate to enable its removal from the front vision area of the helmet. The cover plate knock out assembly comprises a step-shaped actuator element and a light blocking cover. The upper portion of the step-shaped actuator pushes the cover plate away from the helmet when the lower portion of the step-shaped actuator is pressed. The cover plate made of clear plastic includes a spring tendency when slightly compressed when attached to the helmet thereby pushing the upper portion of the step-shaped actuator into a resting position in the helmet.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a protective helmet and moreparticularly to a cover plate knock out assembly to facilitate removalof the cover plate from the helmet without the cover plate popping out.

Description of Related Art

The cover plates in the prior art have been mechanically secured withgaskets around front cover plate and in front of a light filter.Examples of the prior art patent documents are as follows:

U.S. Pat. No. 2,354,502 issued Jul. 25, 1944 to W. T. Cockrilf et al.discloses a heat shield for use in arc welding, grinding, painting, etc.having a latch on a lower portion of the hood front for securing anouter shield in closed or operation position on the inner shield.However, this design requires a hinge and a latch for operating theouter shield. Operational components such as a light filter are notmoved in the present invention.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,860,389 discloses a protective helmet with a movabletransparent screen having a slide associated with a push button whichbears on an inner face of the screen for releasing the screen fromclosure on the helmet a sufficient amount to allow a finger to be placedbetween the helmet and the screen so as to manually raise the screen andopen the aperture of the helmet. However, this design relies on a pivotpoint via a shaft and spring properties of the slide to return the slideto its resting position. Therefore, additional parts are required.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,084,918 issued Feb. 4, 1992 to Peter M. Breining et al.discloses a safety helmet having a chin guard which locks in a closedposition and comprises an opening bar for releasing the chin guard so itmay swivel upward by means of hinges. However, this design requiresadditional parts not needed in the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is therefore an object of this invention to provide aprotective helmet having a cover plate knock out assembly for easilystarting removal of the cover plate.

It is an object of this invention to provide a push button knock outslide portion of the cover plate knock out assembly adjacent to a lowerportion of the cover plate to move said cover plate a predetermineddistance away from the helmet to enable fingers of a user to pull thecover plate out of the helmet.

It is yet another object of this invention to move said cover plate thepredetermined distance away from the helmet whereby the cover plate willnot pop out of the helmet and will not create a potential hazard due tothe motion of the ejected cover plate which has sharp corners.

It is a further object of this invention to prevent any fumes or lightfrom entering the helmet in the vision area by the knock out cover platein the knock out assembly.

These and other objects are further accomplished by a protective helmetcomprising a shell forming a helmet having a front vision area, asee-through cover plate removably secured to the front vision area ofthe helmet, a knock out assembly having a slide portion of aslide/pushbutton positioned adjacent to a lower portion of the coverplate, and the pushbutton portion of the slide/pushbutton extending froma rear portion of the knock out assembly. The helmet includes a weldingprotective helmet. The cover plate slides into channels or guides onopposite sides of the helmet. A lower edge of the cover plate is movedaway from the helmet a predetermined distance by the slide when thepushbutton portion of the slide/pushbutton is pressed, the predetermineddistance prevents the cover plate from popping out of the helmet. Thecover plate when secured to the protective helmet comprises a springtendency to return to a normal flat state thereby pushing the slide intoits resting position. The knock out assembly comprises a light blockingcover enclosing the slide/pushbutton of the knock out assembly to blockany light from entering an interior of the helmet when the pushbutton isin its resting position. The slide extends from a front opening in alower polyland of the shell of the helmet adjacent to the lower portionof the cover plate.

The objects are further accomplished by a cover plate knock out assemblyfor attaching to a protective helmet comprising a slide/pushbutton, alight blocking cover for securing the slide/pushbutton in the protectivehelmet wherein an end of the slide portion rests adjacent to a lowerportion of a cover plate of the helmet; a land extending from a wall ofthe light blocking cover for supporting the slide/pushbutton, a U-shapedupper snap lock protruding from an upper portion of the wall of thelight blocking cover for securing the upper portion of the lightblocking cover to the protective helmet, and a wedge shaped lower snaplock protruding upward from a bottom wall of the light blocking coverfor securing the lower portion of the light blocking cover to theprotective helmet. The slide portion of the slide/pushbutton extendsupward from an end of the pushbutton portion forming a right angle andextending away from the end of the pushbutton portion a predetermineddistance. The light blocking cover plate comprises an opening for thepushbutton portion of the slide/pushbutton to extend through.

The objects are further accomplished by providing a method of making aprotective helmet comprising the steps of forming a shell of a helmethaving a front vision area, securing a see through removable cover plateto the front vision area of the helmet, positioning a knock out assemblyhaving a slide portion of a slide/pushbutton positioned adjacent to alower portion of the cover plate, and extending the pushbutton portionof the slide/pushbutton through an opening in a rear portion of theknock out assembly.

Additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the followingdetailed description of the preferred embodiment exemplifying the bestmode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The appended claims particularly point out and distinctly claim thesubject matter of this invention. The various objects, advantages andnovel features of this invention will be more fully apparent from areading of the following detailed description in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which like reference numerals refer to likeparts, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a protective helmet having a coverplate and a cover plate knock out assembly according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-section of the protective helmet of FIG. 1 showing thecover plate knock out assembly having a slide/pushbutton portionadjacent to the lower portion of the cover plate.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective cross-section of the slide/pushbuttonmounted in the cover plate knock out assembly.

FIG. 4 is an exploded rear perspective view of the cover plate knock outassembly which attaches on the inside of the protective helmetimmediately under the cover plate.

FIG. 5 is a cross-section of the protective helmet with the lowerportion of the cover plate pushed out a predetermined distance by theknock out slide.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-section of the cover plate knock outassembly showing an upper snap lock and a lower snap lock of a lightblocking cover for securing the light blocking cover to a shell of theprotective helmet.

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-section perspective inside view of the lightblocking cover showing a land for supporting the slide portion ofslide/pushbutton, an upper snap lock, a lower snap lock, an upper guiderail and a lower guide rail for aligning and guiding the light blockcover into the welding helmet, and a land rail for supporting themovement of the slide/pushbutton of the cover plate knock out assembly.

FIG. 8A is an enlarged perspective view from inside the helmet showingknock out cover plate assembly guides, lower snap mating elements andsnap catch loops on an inside lower portion of the helmet shell wherethe light blocking cover attaches to the helmet shell.

FIG. 8B is a perspective view of the cover plate knock out assemblyattached to the inside of the protective helmet under the cover plate.

DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of aprotective helmet 10 such as a welding protective helmet having a coverplate 12 and a cover plate knock out assembly 18 according to thepresent invention. The see through cover plate 12 fits into channels 14,16 on opposite sides of a front vision area of the protective helmet 10and the upper and lower edges of the cover plate 12 rest againstpolylands 15, 17 surfaces designed into the upper and lower visionperimeter areas of the helmet. FIG. 2 is a cross-section of protectivehelmet 10 of FIG. 1 showing the knock out assembly 18 comprising acombined slide/pushbutton 25 and a light blocking cover or assemblycover 28. The combined slide/pushbutton 25 includes a slide portion 26at a lower portion of the cover plate 12 and a pushbutton portion 24that extends though the rear of the light blocking cover 28 to outsideof the light blocking cover assembly 28.

The cover plate 12 protects a light filter normally mounted in a weldingprotective helmet 10 from any spatter during a welding process, andbecause of the tight fit of the cover plate 12 around the edges of thevision area of the protective helmet 10, welding fumes and spatter areprevented from entering the interior of the protective helmet 10.

Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, FIG. 3 shows an enlarged perspectivecross-section view of the slide/pushbutton 25 mounted in the cover plateknock out assembly 18. The slide 26 is formed on the upper portion andan opening is provided in a raised area 22 of a lower polyland 20 of thewelding protective helmet 10 for the slide 26 to extend through to beadjacent to the cover plate 12. The pushbutton 24 portion is formed onthe lower portion of this slide/pushbutton and extends out of the lightblocking cover 28. The center raised area 22 of the lower polyland 20 ofthe welding protective helmet 10 is raised to accommodate thepositioning of the slide 26 so that it contacts the lower portion of thecover plate 12 just above a bottom edge of the cover plate 12.

Referring to FIG. 4, an expanded rear view of the cover plate knock outassembly shows the pushbutton 24 of the slide/pushbutton 25 and thelight blocking cover 28 which attaches to the guides 40-52 on the shell29 of protective helmet 10 immediately under that cover plate 12.

The slide/pushbutton 25 is made of rigid plastic (ABS). The lightblocking cover 28 is made of semi-rigid plastic for performing a propersnap (32) function (Nylon). The protective helmet 10 is made of durablehigh heat/low cold performing plastic (Nylon). The cover plate 12 ismade of clear, impact resistant plastic (PC).

Referring to FIG. 5, a cross-section of the protective helmet 10 isshown with the lower portion of the cover plate 12 being pushed away 30from the raised polyland 22 and protective helmet 10 because thepushbutton 24 portion of the slide/pushbutton 25 is pressed moving theslide 26 through the hole in the raised polyland. When the slide 26 isfully extended a predetermined distance, a user's finger can get underthe bottom of the cover plate 12 and easily pull it from the protectivehelmet 10. The predetermined distance is determined by the length of theslide 26 and it is limited to a length whereby when the slide 26 isfully extended, the cover plate 12 will not pop out of the protectivehelmet 10. In the present embodiment, the slide 26 extends approximately0.375 inches beyond the raised areas 22 of the lower polyland 20.

Referring to FIG. 6, an enlarged cross-section of the cover plate knockout assembly 18 shows a U-shaped upper snap lock 32 and a partial wedgeshaped lower snap lock 34 extending upward from a bottom wall of thelight blocking cover 28 both of which firmly secure the slide/pushbutton25 and light blocking cover 28 to the shell 29 of the protective helmet10. The wedge portion 37 of the lower snap lock 34 faces the shell 29 ofthe protective helmet 10 so that the wedge portion 37 slides into snapcatch loop 46 extending from the inside of shell 29.

Referring to FIG. 7, a partial cross-section perspective inside view ofthe light blocking cover 28 shows a land 36 for supporting theslide/pushbutton 25. Also shown are the U-shaped upper snap lock 32 andlower snap lock 34 having the wedge portion 37 both of which are usedfor securing the light blocking cover 28 to the shell 29 of theprotective helmet 10. In addition, upper guide rail 33 and lower guiderail 35 provide guidance when attaching and aligning the light blockingcover 28 to the shell 29 of the protective helmet 10. A land rail 36supports the movement of the slide/pushbutton of the cover plate knockout assembly.

Referring to FIGS. 8A and 8B, FIG. 8A shows an enlarged perspective viewof the area under the cover plate 12 inside the protective helmet 10where the light blocking cover 28 attaches along with theslide/pushbutton 25 to the protective helmet 10. Knock out assemblyguides 40, 44, 50, and 52 are provided for guiding the upper guide rail33 and land rail 36 of cover 28 when attached to the shell 29 of theprotective helmet 10. A stop 42 is provided between assembly guides 40,44 to prevent the slide from rotating too much when installing duringproduction. Also, snap catch loops 46, 48 are provided for receiving thewedge shaped lower snap locks 34 in the light blocking cover 28 wherethe lower guide rail 35 of cover 28 slides into lower guides 49 and 54of protective helmet shell 29. FIG. 8B is a perspective view showing thecover plate knock out assembly 18 securely attached to the inside of theprotective helmet 10 under the cover plate 12.

This invention has been disclosed in terms of a preferred embodiment. Itwill be apparent that many modifications can be made to the disclosedapparatus and method without departing from the invention. Therefore, itis the intent of the appended claims to cover all such variations andmodifications as come within the true spirit and scope of thisinvention.

1-7. (canceled) 8-10. (canceled)
 11. A method of making a protectivehelmet comprising the steps of forming a shell of a helmet having afront vision area; securing a see through removable cover plate to saidfront vision area of said helmet; positioning a knock out assemblyhaving an upper portion of a step-shaped actuator positioned adjacent toa lower portion of said cover plate; and extending said lower portion ofsaid step-shaped actuator through an opening in a rear portion of saidknock out assembly.
 12. The method as recited in claim 11 wherein saidmethod of making a protective helmet includes a welding helmet.
 13. Themethod as recited in claim 11 wherein said step of securing saidremovable cover plate comprises the step of sliding said cover plateinto channels on opposite sides of said protective helmet.
 14. Themethod as recited in claim 11 wherein said step of positioning saidknock out assembly adjacent to a lower portion of said cover platecomprises the step of moving a lower edge of said cover plate away fromsaid helmet a predetermined distance by said upper portion of saidstep-shaped actuator when said lower portion of said step-shapedactuator is pressed, said predetermined distance preventing said coverplate from popping out of said helmet.
 15. The method as recited inclaim 14 wherein said method comprises the step of providing said coverplate with a spring tendency to return said cover plate to a normal flatstate thereby pushing said upper portion of said step-shaped actuatorinto its resting position.
 16. The protective helmet as recited in claim11 wherein said step of positioning said knock out assembly comprisesthe step of providing a light blocking cover enclosing said step-shapedactuator of said knock out assembly to block any light from entering aninterior of said helmet when the lower portion is in its restingposition.